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CHILD CARE QUALITY: PROCEDURAL QUALITY
NATIONAL HEAD START IMPACT STUDY
Measure: Selected “program information” items from the Care Provider Interview and the Teacher Survey and “curriculum and assessment” items from the Center Director/Setting Interview
Source
The National Head Start Impact Study is funded by the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Westat (prime contractor) conducts the study in collaboration with the Urban Institute, the American Institutes for Research, and Decision Information Resources (the subcontractors).
The Head Start Impact Study staff developed the procedural quality items with assistance from child care and preschool experts. Some items were modified from the Family and Child Experiences Survey.
Population Assessed
The Head Start Impact Study involves 4,750 (2,829 treatment and 1,921 control) 3- and 4-year-old newly entering Head Start-eligible preschool children across 84 nationally representative grantees and delegate agencies in communities where there are more eligible children and families than can be served by the program. Of the 4,750 children selected for the study, approximately 42 percent are Hispanic; 27 percent, Black; 28 percent, White; and 3, percent are other. Sixty-six percent of the children speak English as their primary language, 31 percent speak Spanish, and 3 percent speak a language other than Spanish or English. Gender is evenly split on the child sample.
The sample selection process began by including all fiscal year 1999–2000 Head Start grantees and delegate agencies in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Programs that were very new, migrant, or tribal or that offered Early Head Start only were excluded. Geographic grantee clusters were developed using a minimum of eight grantees/delegate agencies per cluster, and the clusters were grouped into 25 strata using state pre-K and childcare policy, child race/ethnicity, and urban/rural location and region as stratifiers. One cluster was selected per strata with probability proportional to size (N = 261 grantees/delegate agencies). Next, the eligibility of grantees/delegate agencies in each cluster was determined. Those that were closed or merged and those that were saturated (have very few children in the community who are not served) were excluded. Remaining grantees/delegate agencies within the clusters were then stratified based on grantee/delegate agency characteristics including local contextual variables. Three grantees/delegate agencies were randomly selected from each cluster. These grantees/delegate agencies were contacted for participation in the study and the list of centers operating within these grantees/delegate agencies in 2002–2003 was compiled. Center eligibility was determined by excluding saturated centers and combining small centers with nearby centers to create center groups. Using the same stratification characteristics as used for the grantees/delegate agencies, approximately three centers were selected from each grantee/delegate agency based on proportional probabilities (i.e., larger centers have greater chance of selection). The final sample included 378 centers within 84 grantees/delegate agencies. Once the centers were selected, random assignment of children within these centers resulted in 2,829 children in the treatment group and 1,921 children in the comparison group for a total of 4,750 children.
Children selected were considered part of one of two cohorts. Cohort one included children who were 3-years-old in the 2002–2003 school year. Cohort one will be followed through 2005–2006, when they will have reached first grade. Cohort two consists of children who were 4-years-old during the 2002–2003 school year, and thus are moving into kindergarten in the 2003–2004 school year. Cohort two will be followed through their first grade year in 2004–2005.
Periodicity
Staff instruments are administered in the spring of each year through the child’s first grade year.
Subscales/Components
The first year of data collection is complete, but subscales are not yet available. The majority of questions about child care quality (procedural) come from two sections within the care provider interview and the teacher survey: program information and curriculum and assessment. The program information section asks a number of questions to assess procedural quality that focus on the things that a care provider does with the children who are in his/her care. These items include the time children spend daily in specific activities (e.g., child-chosen activities and adult-directed activities), the frequency with which numerous reading and language activities are done with children in care (e.g., working on learning the names of letters, discussing new words, retelling or making up stories), the frequency that children do other activities (e.g., counting out loud, working with shape blocks, working on arts and crafts, playing sports/exercise), the use of a specific curriculum, the training the teacher received on the curriculum, the number of components in the curriculum (e.g., addressing different areas of learning and involving of parents as partners in learning), the extent of agreement with statements about preparation for school (e.g., homework should be given to kindergarten children almost everyday, and parents should read to children regularly), and the extent of agreement with statements about how children in pre-k should be taught and managed (e.g., activities in preschool should respond to individual differences in development and students should work silently and alone on seatwork). The section on curriculum and assessment focuses on the center’s use of a specific curriculum; an explanation of the curriculum; and the specifics of the curriculum, such as goals for children’s learning and development, specific activities for children, and suggested teaching materials.
Procedures for Administration
Care Provider Interview
The care provider interview takes about 30 minutes to complete.
Teacher Survey
The teacher survey takes about 30 minutes to complete.
Center Director/Setting Interview
The center director/setting interview takes about 60 minutes to complete.
Psychometrics/Data Quality
Psychometric data for the study is not yet available.
Languages Available
The teacher survey and care provider interview are available in English and Spanish. The center director/setting interview is available in English. If the teacher or care provider does not speak English or Spanish, an interpreter translates the instrument into the respondent’s native language. If the center director does not speak English, an interpreter translates the instruments into the respondent’s native language.
Items Included
The items are not reproduced in full in this document, but examples are given. The interviews can be requested by contacting the Head Start Impact Study Project Director (Ronna Cook, ronnacook@westat.com) or the ACF Project Officer (Dr. Michael Lopez, milopez@acf.hhs.gov).
Example of Program Information Items
Now I am going to ask you some questions about the things that you do with the children in your care. In general, these questions apply to children who are pre-school age. As I ask questions, think about children in your care who are pre-school age.
How much time does/do the child(ren) in your care spend daily in the following kinds of activities? Do not include lunch or nap breaks. (USE RESPONSE CARD)
| No time | Half hour or less | About one hour | About two hours | Three or four hours | Five hours or more | NA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. Child chooses activities | |||||||
| b. Adult directs individual activities |
How often does/do the child(ren) do each of the following activities? (USE RESPONSE CARD)
| Never | Once a month or less | Two or three times a month | Once or twice a week | Three or four times a week | Every day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. Count out loud | ||||||
| b. Work with shape blocks | ||||||
| c. Use music to understand math ideas (e.g., counting songs) | ||||||
| d. Talk about calendar or days of the week |
Do you use a specific curriculum or combination of curricula?
Have you received training in the curriculum?
The following items are statements that some teachers have made about how children in preschool should be taught and managed. Indicate to what extent each statement agrees or disagrees with your personal beliefs about good teaching practice in preschool programs. (SHOW RESPONSE CARD)
| Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neither agree nor disagree | Agree | Strongly agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. Activities in preschool classrooms should respond to individual differences in development | |||||
| b. Each curriculum area should be taught as a separate subject at separate times | |||||
| c. Three- and four-year-old children should choose many of their own activities that the provider has prepared such as writing, science, etc. |
Examples of Curriculum and Assessment Items
Does your center use a specific curriculum or combination of curricula?
If your principal curriculum has a name, what is that name?
If your additional curricula have names, what are they?
Does the principal curriculum used by your center specify the following? (CIRCLE YES OR NOT FOR EACH ITEM)
Goals for children’s learning and development
Specific activities for children
Suggested teaching strategies
Suggested teaching materials
Ways to involve parents in their child’s learning activities
References and Source Documents
Research design documents for the National Head Start Impact Study are available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/index.html
Other available reports include the following:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2003, March). Building futures: Head Start Impact Study frequently asked questions. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001, March). Building futures: The Head Start Impact Study research design plan (updated version).Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001, January). Building futures: The Head Start Impact Study research design plan. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2002, June). National Head Start Impact research: Second report to Congress. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999, October). Evaluating Head Start: A recommended framework for studying the impact of the program. Washington, DC: Author.
Ongoing and updated information about the National Head Start Impact Study is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/index.html
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